Blindness
by Sinangeled
Summary: ON HIATUS Wolfram and Hart release the Scourge of Europe hoping to make a deal with him. Angelus decides to return to Sunnydale for some revenge, the obligatory torture, and to claim Buffy as his own. Meanwhile, Buffy discovers secrets she never wished to imagine.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, this is my first story and I hope it goes well. I would appreciate feedback on whether or not I ought to continue it. Remember that Angelus IS evil and Buffy is not perfect. Neither are her friends or watcher. People are going to do some bad things in this story. People are going to make some bad choices. For all that though, this is probably not going to be a dark fic. I do believe in a reasonably satisfying resolution and intend to craft one. On that note, on with the story!_

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* * *

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Well, this _was_ an interesting development.

Angelus opened his eyes and looked around the room in amusement. _He used to live so much better than this. Soulboy was just as luxury minded as he was and had access to the same kind of funds. So why the hell didn't he fucking use them? _Oh, right.

He didn't have a clue as to how he had gotten free but he certainly wasn't complaining. Though he did need to find out how. After all, it might not be permanent and he was loath to see himself back in his box in Angel's mind.

"No", he said aloud. "That wouldn't do at all".

So first things first. Find out whatever the hell had happened. Ensure he was going to be in control permanently. Cement that control by killing everyone who could re-curse him. _Starting with that fucking witch… _And he would have to kill his so-called team. Really, one half demon and a vapid ex-cheerleader were not exactly the best team he'd ever seen. So they would have to go as well. _And Cordelia was always so bitchy to Buff…._

Buff. Ah, Buffy. She was next on his to do list. Actually she was at the top of the list of things he wanted to do. And do her he would. His face slowly shifted into a sensual half-smile. He was certainly looking forward to seeing her again. Of course, it hadn't gone so well last time he was out. He growled at the memory of their last battle with Acathla. _Well, _he mused, _he did try to end the world. She never would have been able to kill him otherwise. _He sighed when he remembered his stupidity last time he was out. Sucking the world into hell all because he wanted a girl who he thought he shouldn't want and who he couldn't kill. And poor Buff had been so sweet to him with her shocked little eyes and her cute little pouts. She had plenty of opportunities to kill him. He had, after all, seriously underestimated her. But she couldn't even try properly until he tried to suck the world into hell. No, he had definitely mishandled her last time but he wasn't a fool and he wasn't insane(any longer anyway), he knew exactly what he would need to do to get her back where she belonged.

And with that cheery thought he stalked to the door…before looking at his clothing, letting out a resigned sigh and going back to Angel's closet for some better clothes

Lindsey MacDonald did not approve of The Plan. And it was not just because it was not his plan. His plan involved killing Angel. Not being killed by Angel's alter ego. Lilah Morgan however, had managed to convince the Senor Partners that unleashing a murderous sadistic psychopath on L.A. was a good idea. Of course, the Senior Partners had always wanted Angelus to work for them but from what Lindsey had read up on the guy, Angelus was not exactly a team player. Hence Lindsey's unhappiness with The Plan.

The Plan was to magically remove Angel's soul and then send it on to, well, on. It would probably go to Heaven, Lilah had theorized, but that couldn't be helped and as long as his soul no longer rested accessibly in the ether she didn't mind if he went on to heaven, he'd be out of their way after all. So they had brought in some very powerful demonic sorcerers to remove his soul. That had been three hours ago.

A knock on his door brought Lindsey out of his reverie. Oh, he was fucked. He drained the rest of the whiskey in his glass quickly and slowly wacked to the door.

"Who is it?" he mumbled.

The door was kicked off its hinges and he narrowly avoided being hit. Angelus leaned imposingly in the open doorway and smirked at him.

"Me"

"Is this too much on the skanky side of the sex-appeal spectrum?" Buffy asked Willow.

"What, um no, it's just that you know, the frat boys are kind of, yeah, you know" Willow responded.

Buffy knew. She knew all too well. Even after her unpleasant experiences with Don Juan Parker, she was still not totally against frat boys. She had a low opinion of stereotypes. But in the past few weeks she had been hit on by a variety of obnoxious, chauvinistic fraternity boys who just wouldn't take no for an answer. And after Parker, well.

She hadn't actually slept with Parker. She nearly had. She had been ready to. But she had seen Angel's face in her mind, disapproving and betrayed. He had seemed to accept her explanation of a really bad first time (which was both so untrue and such and under-exaggeration that it wasn't even funny) and he agreed that it would be better to take it slow. And then he dumped her and told everyone he'd slept with her.

She hadn't told anyone what had really happened.

She wasn't planning to either. She was fairly optimistic about Riley. He seemed nice, faithful, kind, and totally normal. Everything Angel had wanted for her. He was admittedly attractive with his all American boy good-looks and it seemed like everyone she knew adored him and thought they'd be perfect together. Everyone except Buffy.

_But_, she mused, _it wasn't as if she would ever be in love with anyone else. Riley was a good choice as any._

"Okay", she told Willow, holding up another costume. "What about this?"

Willow looked at the costume. "It looks great" she enthused.

And that was how Buffy ended up going as an angel to the party at Riley's frat house.

"Lindesy", Angelus murmured. "Lindsey, Lindsey, Lindsey…We 're going to have a little chat"

Lindsey looked grimly at the man in front of him. He lounged elegantly, sensuously, against his doorframe. There was an arrogant tilt to his head and a maniacal glint in his eye. This was a man who knew exactly what he was and had supreme confidence in his own worth.

"Well", Lindsey said giving a chocked laugh, "I guess it worked"

Angelus raised one contemptuous eyebrow.

"What is it Giles?" Buffy said. She, Willow, Xander, and Anya were gathered in Giles' flat. "I'm a little short on the timeframe here what with all the fun I could be having at the party listening to stupid pickup lines and watching people make drunken fools out of themselves".

"Ah, yes, well, my sources in Los Angeles say that there was a major magical disturbance there of the blackest kind. I thought it best to warn you". Giles polished his glasses.

"Well, L.A. is Angel's city. So it's really Dead boy's problem" chirped Xander, decked out as a cowboy.

"Ah, yes, well, I suppose I should give him a ring then." Giles murmured. "Very, well, have fun at your soirée and ah, do try and be careful. What are you all supposed to be anyway?"

"Oooh, I'm a ladybug, 'cause well, um, you know" said Willow. "And-and Xander is a cowboy and Anya is a cowgirl 'cause they go together and Buffy-"

"Is ready to go. Come on, Wills" said the girl in question.

"Oh, you're an angel, rather ironic I suppose" said Giles.

"Yeah, yeah it is" mumbled Buffy.

"If I hear one more pick-up line about my costume I will not be held accountable for the resulting bodies" stated Buffy. Willow nodded emphatically. Buffy smiled at Willow.

"you look good Wills. Very cute" she said.

"Th-thanks, you look good too, Buffy" she said. It was true. Buffy, Willow was sure was probably not entirely aware of her effect on the male species. Willow didn't really understand why but supposed that her friend hadn't been made aware of her attractiveness cause Angel was always scaring off guys who tried to ask her out before she even knew they existed.

But now with Angel gone Buffy was fair game to most of the guys t the party. A fair few took one look at her expression and decided to wait till the petite blonde looked a little less murderous to ask her to dance. But sizable portion of the population was intoxicated at some level and discounted her expression. Willow had to admit, Buffy was looking very good. Her costume consisted of a white silk dress that hit a few inches above the knee and with its simple cut and spaghetti straps it looked remarkably like a nightie. Over that there was a sheer over dress . She had cute little feather wings and the gold wire twined through her loose wavy hair made her look beautiful, cute, sexy, and a whole bunch of adjectives that Willow in her decidedly un-sexy costume was sure she was not.

"Hey, Buffy" said Riley. The voice broke Willow out of her reverie.

"Riley!" Willow exclaimed happily. Willow liked Riley. He was perfect for Buffy. Unlike certain un-named vampires. In fact, she had told him what Buffy had been wearing just so he could match her. Buffy needed a little push when it came to Riley. Willow was happy to provide that.

"Hi Riley" said Buffy. She glanced at his costume. _What the hell was he supposed to be?_

"Um, what are you Ri?" Riley grinned bashfully at her.

"I'm uh, the devil"

"Oh" Buffy had to keep herself from cracking up. It was so ridiculous. She had seen every face evil had to offer. She had seen dozens of demons, vampires, monsters, and one really creepy puppet. She had looked into the devil's face and called him _lover_ (albeit mockingly), Riley was so far out of league…

"Did you uh, wanna dance?"

"Sure"

And then the angel and the devil walked out to the dance floor.

Angelus was fairly pleased with the way things were shaping up. Despite not being able to kill Lindsey (little prick was too smart to leave the safety of his apartment) he had negotiated a deal with Wolfram and Hart that was very much to his advantage. Not that he had any intention of keeping it but still. Cordelia and Doyle were safely chained up in the dungeon of his new manor on the outskirts of L.A. and he was on his way to Sunnydale.

He stopped for gas (sports cars had _horrible_ mileage)and impatiently waited for the tank to fill.

"Come on" he muttered.

"Why you in a hurry boy" some redneck trucker sneered at him. "You'd think some pretty boy like you would learn a little patience". Angelus slowly morphed into the demon's visage.

"Yes. One would". He spun on his heel and smiled menacingly at the overweight rat who turned pale with terror. He opened his mouth presumably to scream for help. Angelus was there in a second, covering his mouth and holding him off the ground with another hand around his neck.

"Ah, ah, ah" he said. "No screaming. Wouldn't do for my girl to know I was back in town. You know women, they just love a surprise and you don't want to spoil mine for me, now do you? Hmm, what was that? I'm afraid I can't understand you there, buddy. Cat got your tongue?"

The man whimpered.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" Angelus said. He wrenched opens the man's mouth and ripped out his tongue. "Not a cat then, pity".

The sharp sound of a neck snapping echoed around the deserted gas station.

_Send us a blindfold_

_Send us a blade_

_Tell the survivors_

_Help is on the way_

Buffy and Riley swayed awkwardly to the music. Riley chattered on about his sister's wedding and Buffy did her best to look interested. _How was she supposed to date this guy? He was do damn boring_. But since she had to date somebody to keep her so-called friends happy Riley would have to do_. He was nice, _she reminded herself_, a really nice guy._ Problem was, she didn't want nice. She wanted Angel.

_I was a blindfold _

_Never complained_

_All the survivors _

_Singing in the rain_

Buffy and Riley had finished their dance and Buffy had walked back over to where Willow was just as Oz whisked her off to dance. She felt like that something was about to happen. There was a tingling sensation that crawled up her spine. _Vampires? Damn, that was vampires! And something else…something familiar. _

Angel?

* * *

_Ah, things are coming along nicely my pretties. What is Angelus' deal with Wolfram and Hart? What is going on at the costume party? Can I kill Riley yet? All to be answered in the next chapter. _

_**Please, oh pretty please, REVIEW!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, here is chapter 2, it took me a little longer to write than I expected. I think I will probably be updating once a week at least. I will need to move up the rating of this story for the next chapter, it will contain graphic violence and a bit of smut I expect. So if you want to continue reading, this story will soon be under the M rating. _

_ Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback, it is greatly appreciated and very valuable to me. Enjoy! -Sinead_

_

* * *

_

Angelus shook his head in disappointment. Demons these days. They had no sense or respect for their betters. And they had nowhere near enough endurance to make torturing them anything more than a chore. It was so sad. The state of the demon community was worse than he had ever seen it. And the demons themselves were just so damn stupid! _Why the hell wouldn't they tell him where the SLAYER was? What did they think he wanted to do to her? Give her flowers and a hug? _No, a kiss and the head of one of her little friends would do well enough.

He whistled a jaunty tune as he sauntered over to the frat house where the costume party was being held, taking a moment to glance down at his clothing. He had grabbed a weapon from the armory at the mansion that Soulboy had conveniently left in full working order. It turned out the idiot's sentimentality about leaving the mansion in its current state to memorialize the life he had WILLINGLY left behind had come in handy.

With the metal pitchfork in hand and his red silk shirt _not to mention those leather pants Buff was oh so fond of _he looked like sin incarnated.

Which he sorta was. He grinned. _Miss me?_

* * *

"Miss me? "a drunken Parker Abrahams muttered in her ear.

Buffy took one disgusted look at him and promptly turned on her heel to get away from the moron. She seriously wanted to graduate collage BEFORE she was incarcerated for homicide. Not that the universe seemed to have any intention of that happening but Buffy figured that the universe owed her for that one time she saved the world from UTTER DISTRUCTION! _Did you hear that universe? _She was pissed. And tired. And disgusted. And also totally and utterly heartbroken but that was beside the point.

A point that Parker was apparently missing. That she was pissed. And dangerous. Also, so not interested. The idiot had latched onto her arm as she tried to get away from him. She analyzed her options for a moment and twisted her arm such that he was forced to release her and she quickly blended into the crowd.

"Buffy? Buffy? "she heard Riley call. Instead she ignored him and slide quietly out of one of the windows. She needed a break.

* * *

Angelus sauntered into the party, the boy at the door not even attempting to stop him. He slid back into the shadows so he could observe uninterrupted and unseen. Crowds of drunken collage students moved in what was called dancing these days (really, there was no symbolism and no elegance, not that he wouldn't mind it if Buffy wanted to dance with him like that…). The women, he noted, were not wearing very much at all. He wondered idly what Buffy was wearing and if he would have to punish her for it.

Speaking of his darling Slayer, where was she? He closed his eyes and concentrated on the innate ability to find her that he had inherited from Angel. He opened his eyes and looked in that direction to see a drunken boy stumbling after his darling as she slipped through a window. _Did she know he was here? _No, he decided, probably not. The witch and her dog were dancing off to the left, blissfully unaware that they were in any danger. It definitely wasn't like Buff to abandon her friends. Usually the other way around. Loyal to a fault that girl.

"To kill or not to kill?" Angelus mused, "That is… a completely stupid question."

He decided not to kill them immediately, though their deaths were inevitable. His soul had been moved on to heaven or hell or purgatory and was never coming back. The witch was of no threat to him anymore and Oz was simply not interesting.

No, he decided, what he wanted to do was to see Buffy. After all, it had been some time since he had seen his girl. He made his way over to the large window that he had seen her hair trail out of in a leisurely pace. After all, he had eternity.

He left his spot at the alcove and made his way across the room, blending in with the shadows so that he went unnoticed. After a century and a half as a predator and another hundred years spent hiding from humanity he was very good at moving undetected if he so wished. As he moved, he took note of the students in the room noticing with amusement an ugly girl dressed as, well, he wasn't exactly sure, and an eager faced blonde boy who was clearly supposed to be dressed as the devil.

When he got to the window, he silently ducked out of it and slid into the garden.

* * *

Buffy was sitting on a bench in the garden, silently shredding the leaves from the shrub next to her when she felt it. It wasn't her imagination this time (she was pretty sure), Angel was here. She could feel him. Only question was, why? Why was he here? Did he mean to see her? Or was she there by coincidence? Did he really want to see her? Did she want to see him? It had been so long and she was hoping that the pain would eventually lessen though she knew better than to expect it to ever disappear entirely. But to see him again only for him to leave once more would hurt more than she knew he would realize.

All thoughts were discarded though, when she saw him. He moved purposefully towards her with a confidence she had never seen before.

"Angel?" she breathed his name in a mixture of question, longing, and love.

"Buffy" he said with a little quirk of his lips. "I missed you" he said simply.

"I missed you, too" she murmured back.

And then his lips were on hers and he was kissing her and she forgot how to breathe and oh, it was Angel and he was here and his lips were on hers and for a moment, everything was right in the world. Then all too soon, they parted resting their foreheads together as Buffy took deep breaths.

"What-" she began as he began to trail tiny kisses down to her throat. She let out a sigh of happiness.

"Hmm? "he responded.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with strains of sadness and innocence in her voice.

"Seeing you," he replied. "Better yet, _kissing_ you"

And then his lips were on hers and he was kissing her breathless again.

* * *

He saw her the moment he straightened after his somewhat undignified exit through the window. She was sitting on a bench in the garden with moonlight illuminating her face and hair. She looked radiant, angelic, tragic, sad and innocent. _Damn, this love shit was making him corny. _She was dressed as an angel, he noted with some amusement, though she was an angel with a body built for sin. He was almost painfully aroused by the image of beauty and pain she created.

She saw him then and he enjoyed the emotions that played across her face. Shock. Love. Pain. Confusion. Lust. He (with or without a soul) had always loved her expressiveness and inherent vulnerability.

"Angel?" she said in that endearing, sensual way of hers. What should he answer? _No Buff baby, I'm not your stupid ex-boyfriend, it's me, Angelus, remember, I tried to suck the world into hell last time we met baby and now I want to kill everyone you know and spend the rest of my life with you? _Somehow he didn't think that would work. And he didn't want to lie to her so…

"Buffy" he replied. Cute routine they had going there. Of course, his full name, Angelus, sounded so much better coming from her lips than his nickname the soul had stolen. She said it softly, Angel-us, instead of An-jelus, like her fucking Watcher. _Hmmm, wonder if Giles has a new girlfriend…._

"I missed you" he told her. _Oh did I ever…_

"I missed you too" _Of course you did baby._

And he continued to distract her with kisses.

* * *

Inside the frat house, Willow and Oz danced.

"I don't get it" the redhead pouted. "I did everything right"

"Did what" inquired the werewolf.

"The spell. To make Buffy happy"

Oz was very concerned.

"Willow" he began, "You can't go around messing with people's emotions like that, it really wrong"

Willow was surprised that her boyfriend felt so strongly about it.

"But-"she began.

"No buts" he cut her off. "Whatever magic you are trying to do with Buffy needs to stop now. Willow, what you're doing is seriously wrong!"

"But she's hurting! And Xander says-"

"Hurting! Of course she's hurting. The love of her life left her. As for Xander, I really don't trust his judgment" exclaimed Willow's usually mild-mannered boyfriend.

"It was just a compulsion spell to make her more interested in going out with other _human_ guys", Willow protested.

"I've seen barely any interest from her. I think without that spell she wouldn't have any interest in dating, Willow!" Oz said.

Willow was shocked at the way her boyfriend was behaving. He was usually very quiet and hardly what one would call opinionated. She couldn't see what his problem was, she was helping Buffy, wasn't she?

"You need to stop this Willow, and tell Giles what you have been up to, understand? Because if you don't then I will. Magic won't solve Buffy's problems. Support, empathy and understanding would go a lot further" And with that, Oz left Willow on the dance floor and strode out of the party.

* * *

Angelus was thoroughly enjoying himself. Making out with Buffy was a very pleasurable experience, one that he was quite happy to be experiencing firsthand. She made these little mewling sounds in the back of her throat and occasionally gave these little sighs. It was just so darn cute! Alas, it was time to give up the charade. In a minute or two. No doubt he would have some convincing to do before she would kiss him like this again.

Angelus traced her slim figure with his hands as he continued to plunder her mouth. As he nipped playfully at her bottom lip Buffy let out a groan.

"We should stop" she gasped.

"Mmmmm, no" he replied. "I'd rather keep doing this, wouldn't you?" Then he proceeded to lick his mark on her neck, biting down gently. She gasped.

"Oh my god Angel, don't stop" she moaned.

"Yes love" he murmured continuing to caress her form.

"Wait" she gasped. "Curse! Curse, curse bad"

"Oh, not a problem"

She gaped, freezing. "No curse"

"Yep. Well, no. Well, yes. No curse. None of God-damned gypsy curses for me, Buff!"he said in tones that could otherwise be described as cheerful. Of course, when Angelus used it the sound was more menacing than anything else.

Buffy froze. "Your soul…."

"Is gone" said Angelus. Buffy blanched. "Permanently", he continued, "so don't get your panties in a twist Buff. It is literally impossible to bring him back, sweetheart. But don't worry. I'm here to stay"

Buffy found that she could not respond to that, the pain was so great. Angelus waited patiently for a moment.

"Well. I'd really love to stay and chat Buff, but I don't think that would be the most productive use of my time. But I promise to see you soon, babe". He stood up, paused, and turned back to where she sat, frozen. "And a little warning, Buff. I have no intention of destroying the world. So if I find you've been trying to kill me, I'm going to be, very, very angry. And you will be very, very sore by the time I'm done with you. Goodnight darling!" And with that he gave her a peck on the cheek, an affectionate pat on the head, and strode away into the darkness.

He chanced a glance in the reflection right before he left her and noticed she still looked too shell shocked to do anything. He smiled. _Damn, I'm good. _

_Until next time my love…._

_

* * *

**And next time this story will have to be rated M. I have decided that Parker is also going to die a horrible death, in fact, it will be wore than Riley's in all probability because he claimed to sleep with Buffy and then HURT her. Angelus isn't so keen on other people hurting what is his, and in his mind, Buffy is definitely his. **_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Hi! _**

**_Sorry for the wait. I was traveling and didn't have internet access until today. But in the brightside this capter is nearly twice as long as the others. YAY!_**

**_I am having a tiny bit of writers block so any suggestions would be very greatly appreciated. I'm more setting up the stroy right now. I do want it to have more of a plot then I have in my head right now._**

**_There is some Joyce bashing here. I really hate her. But the bash-age is fairly mild._**

**_I wanted to torture Parker and Riley and put smut in this chapter but all I really did was set it up for the next chapter. SO this story remains a T but next chapter will definitely be a M. _**

**_Enjoy! -Sinead_**

* * *

Giles was reading. This was not an unusual occurrence where he was concerned. What was unusual was that he was unable to read. His eyes had passed blankly over the same lines again and again without any comprehension occurring. With a frustrated sigh, he slammed the book closed and rubbed at his eyes under his glasses.

Buffy. She wasn't getting any better. He had seen that she was upset at Angel's departure. That was only to be expected. She had cried in his arms one night and he had run his hands over her hair. She was naturally devastated at the abrupt departure of the man she had loved. She had hidden the bulk of her pain from her friends and he had understood that. None of them, least of all her friends had really understood the depth of her relationship with the enigmatic vampire. The two of them had preferred to keep true nature of their relationship private. Giles felt that there was a greater connection there than he had ever realized.

He never truly realized how difficult it must have been for Angel to walk away from her.

And Buffy wasn't getting any better. She was robotic in her movements and was acting just like she seemed to think that they wanted her to. She couldn't entirely hide her pain but her friends seemed very good at ignoring it. In fact, Giles thought with disgust, they seemed content to ignore her pain entirely. Xander and Willow had both been extremely callous to their friend. Giles had come to expect it of Xander but not of Willow. He couldn't deny that he was disturbed.

His thoughts were punctuated by a frantic knock at the door. He stood up abruptly and knocked over his tea. Swearing quietly, he moved to clean it up quickly. There was another frantic knocking.

"Coming!" he called. He moved to the door and it opened to reveal an ashen-faced Buffy. She swayed slightly where she stood and had a haunted, almost maddened look about her. Her hair was mussed from running and she carried her shoes in her hands. She opened her mouth, shuddered, took another breath and said,

"He's back"

* * *

Angelus was in a very good mood. He was free and was about to get everything that he wanted. Not that it was an unusual occurrence for him. But it was gratifying none the less. He had just killed two attractive young women who tasted absolutely delicious and was now on his way to announce his presence to the demonic community of Sunnydale. He was feeling a bit restless (after all, taking Buff right there and then was _not_ part of his plan as satisfying as it would have been) and hoped that they would put up a bit of a fight.

It was unlikely with his reputation but still, one could hope.

Ah, look, there were some vampires now. And they were… whining.

"-obsessed with the Slayer!" one of them was saying. That sounded interesting… Angelus jumped onto a nearby rooftop to listen in.

"He's going to get us all killed. Looking for the Slayer, what kind of moron goes hunting for the Slayer!" said the short ugly male vampire.

"He says he's killed two before" said his marginally more attractive companion. _Killed two slayers, obsessed… oh fuck me, it must be Spike. Hadn't the soul run him out of town? Guess Dru didn't want her boy back. _

If Spike was back in town and obsessed with killing Buffy then he needed to be dealt with swiftly. Buffy was very capable and Angelus doubted that Spike would be able to kill her but if any vampire in this town could do it Spike was the one. _Aside from him of course…_

So he would have to see to Spike. Luckily, he had lot of experience disciplining Spike so this shouldn't be much of a difficultly.

* * *

Buffy was in a state of shock. Her thoughts were swirling around in her head. She couldn't make head or tail of them. Her emotions were running wild. She prayed to God that she didn't encounter any trouble just then because in the state she was in she was sure that she wouldn't be capable of dealing with it.

Just then scream broke the still of the night.

God clearly didn't give a shit about what she wanted. So what else was new?

She ran to the source of the noise. And if she didn't run quite as fast as she could then who would know. She pulled the vampire off the screaming girl and staked the handsome brunette before he could even get a punch in. She walked away without a word leaving the shaky young woman he had attacked to take care of herself. _Seriously, I could swear she'd been attacked before. Do these bimbos ever learn? _And now she was off to warn her mother about the new threat to her life.

When Buffy arrived home she decided to bypass the front door and sneak through her bedroom window. _Like Angel always used to … _so maybe there was something to be said for taking the door. She entered the house quietly and found her mother passed out drunk on the couch_. Clearly not my day…_Normally she would have tried to help her mother up to bed. But tonight she just wasn't in the mood to look after anyone else.

God she was tired.

It was always one thing after another with her. Her friends and Angel and Giles had all been bright spots in her life but they were all gone now it seemed. It wasn't fair, as childish and selfish as it may have been to think that. It just wasn't fair. She couldn't keep dealing with this. Why was it her? Buffy's lips trembled and she dashed away tears that were sliding down her cheeks.

She made to leave the house and then remembered her original purpose. She inhaled and glanced back at her mother's sleeping form. How did you tell a parent who you weren't sure even _really_ loved you that your ex-boyfriend who they hated had lost his soul and was now back in town with the intent of….well, Buffy wasn't sure exactly what his intent was. It almost seemed like…But no. Angelus had made it very clear the first time around that she despised her. That was it. His actions in the garden had been a ploy. _Please let them be a ploy because if not…she wasn't strong enough this time. _

_I'll tell her in the morning…_

* * *

Angelus had decided to get more information before going after Spike. It had nothing to do with the fact he was already desperate to see Buffy again. He was admittedly curious to see what she would do next. It was her move after all, even though the game was all his. And he intended to win.

He had discovered he could, in fact still enter her house though she no longer lived there. From there he went to pay a visit to her school. He decided to take a peek into the school records and discovered that Buffy, _his Buffy, his mate, his queen, his precious consort, _was sharing a shitty dorm room with that witch. She deserved so much better than that and he intended to give it to her. But in the meantime it was nice that her dorm room functioned in the same way a hotel room would. He could very likely get in.

He slipped noiselessly up the stairs and moved down the hallway to her room. He listened carefully at the door. There was only one heartbeat in the room. A slow smile graced the angelically handsome demon's features. The rhythm of the heartbeat was one familiar to him. Buffy's. _All alone…._ The witch was probably with her boyfriend. Leaving him to his golden girl. It was really very thoughtful. Just for that he might kill her quickly instead of torturing her. Although the redhead could be kinda fun. She was so easily scared that it would be a bit too easy for his taste though.

He calmly picked the lock and slid through the door, ending his reflection. It was quite hard to focus on so trivial a matter when he was so close to the tiny golden predator that, if he judged her heart rate correctly, was fast asleep. His eyes glanced upon her restlessly sleeping form.

Buffy shifted and tossed in her sleep. There was a tiny frown on her face and her lips were trembling. A little whimper escaped her lips. Angelus frowned slightly. While it was nice, very nice, to know he had such power over her still he didn't enjoy her pain as much as he thought he would. He consoled himself with the fact that if he had his way he would have an eternity to make it up to her. Soon when he saw her in bed she wouldn't be crying in her sleep but screaming his name. Repeatedly. He smiled.

The Scourge of Europe stalked over to the bed in which his girl lay. He stroked her hair slowly, rhythmically and she quieted under his fingers. He slowly tugged the covers down her lithe body, exposing her to his gaze. He greedily took in every in of that golden firm skin. He shifted uncomfortably from his perch on her bed. He had a raging hard-on from the minute he entered the room and being so close to her was an exquisite temptation. However it did not suit his plans to have her tonight. He doubted she had even fully processed the news of his return yet and would no doubt fight him if he tried anything. He prided himself in the ability to have any woman he cared for willingly and Buffy was so much more than that. Force could not be used with her. Her capitulation would require some artful manipulations on his part but eventually she would be back in his bed where she belonged.

An unpleasant though occurred to him just then. He let out a low rumbling growl. In her sleep, Buffy frowned, reaching over to secure his large hand in her smaller warm one. Her cradle-robbing-creature-of-the-night ex boyfriend let out a low shuddering sigh. What if she had turned to another in his absence. She had been told by that ensouled freak to date normal boys who could give her picnics and babies. _Fucker…._ What if she had listened to him? The though did not appeal to the fiend who watched her sleep.

With a frown still on his feature Angelus shifted slightly and gently put his hands low on her waist. It was easy enough to find out if another male had encroached on his territory. He carefully and oh-so-slowly tugged her cotton sleeping shorts down her lovely legs. Gently putting his hands between her thighs he softly wedged them open slightly. She slept on. He took a breath and lowered his face to her feminine folds and inhaled deeply. He smiled and sat up. No one had been there but him. Or rather Angel, but the body was the same.

"You've been a very good girl, love" he said to her sleeping form. His golden girl had been faithful. He was very pleased.

When the beautiful demon exited the room and stalked out into the night an uncommonly gentle smile graced the countenance that had brought so much terror to so many people. Wasn't love wonderful?

He walked down the street and made his way off campus. He was headed for Willies bar to inform the demon community of his return and to warn them to stay out of his way. Thanks to Angel and his actions last time her was free many would no doubt challenge him. That was just fine. He had a lot of aggression to work off.

As he passed a fraternity house he noted a small group of intoxicated men (well, they were really boys) who were steadily gulping down more alcohol as they attempted to have a conversation.

"Summers-" he caught. The vampire halted where he stood. He didn't know why these drunken frat boys were talking about Buffy but he didn't like it. He walked until he stood almost in their midst, their intoxication and his vampiric abilities making it so they were oblivious to his presence.

"If she slept with you why'd you dump her right away" said a slightly overweight blonde boy.

A reasonably good-looking dark haired boy replied, " 'cause she was weird, that's why, hot, but kinda weird, and she'd do this thing where she'd like not pay attention"

" 'S cause you're a boring ass Parker" said a dark-skinned boy. "Betcha Buffy dumped him after she saw his skinny dick and he's just blowing air".

"No!" Parker insisted "Fuck'em and Leave'em. It's what I do. I'm so cool man. Like fucking James Bond."

"You are such a dickhead Parker" said the same boy as before

"Fuck you ,Ben".

Angelus saw red. This miserable rotten piece of worm food. This filthy asswipe had dared to sully the precious golden creature that was above all his? He was dead. He was worse than dead. In a blind rage he picked up a rock and threw it so it broke one of the windows of the frat house.

"Fuck!" a boy exclaimed. While they were all distracted Angelus grabbed Parker by the collar and swiftly knocked him out. He ran through a mental list of items he would need to acquire to properly torture the dark-haired boy. He could do just fine without them but there was something to be said for the anticipation in a victim's eyes as they stared at a properly stocked torture chamber.

* * *

Buffy was walking down a long hallway. It was dark but the hall was illuminated by the malevolently glowing eyes. People tugged at her clothes, trying to move her forward or backwards as claws that belonged to the creatures with the glowing eyes tried to snatch her. She drew her arms to her chest, frightened.

"Come along" the voice of her first watcher, Merrick, said with impatience and the barest hint of amusement.

"Buffy? You alright?" Pike asked. But soon they were snatched away by the creatures.

"I'm sorry" Buffy whispered. "So sorry"

New hands reached out to guide her and they were a little better. They were still impatient but slightly more gentle. Then they suddenly let go. Buffy caught her breath and stilled, her heart beating frantically. A large cold hand slipped into hers. It rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand.

"It's okay" said Angel. "I've got you." She leaned into him with relief. He pulled a torch from the wall and she lit it with some matches she suddenly realized were in her pocket. The hallway was thrown into relief and the creatures shrank back from the light.

"I love you" she told him.

"I know, love, I know." And he kissed her.

There was a manhole up ahead, and Buffy realized the hallway was in fact a sewer. They looked at each other happily. Buffy paused. Just before the exit there was a hallway that was much nicer than the one they were in. She tugged his hand slightly and they peaked in. There was a room that was lit by a massive crystal chandelier. There were silk and velvet hangings on the wall and there were piles of pillows to reline on in the corners. Beautiful music filled the room and Buffy began to sway.

"Dance with me" she said.

"Maybe we shouldn't" he responded but took her in his arms. They danced, swaying and turning. Angel led her and she followed his experienced movements, letting him lead her. He bent down to her ear to whisper to her. He crooned to her in Gaelic, and she closed her eyes in bliss.

"Mo chroi" he said. "My heart. How I love you, my darling"

"You are everything" she told him. She could not have said how long they swayed in exquisite bliss but it ended and they reclined and the piles of silken pillows. He had a glass of wine and let her taste a little.

"It tastes funny" she said. "But I like it."

"Its ambrosia" he said. "Not truly wine. Better. But you will never want to taste ordinary wine again. It is not as sweet. Not as powerful. Not as pure"

"I love you" she reminded him.

"I love you" he replied. She snuggled into him. And closed her eyes, slightly sleepy.

A clock struck chiming out ten times. Angel gasped. She watched in silent horror as he faded into a ghost and was pulled away by two sad faced angels.

"We're sorry" they sang. "So sorry"

"Buffy!" Angel gasped.

"No!" she cried. "No" and collapsed crying into her the pillows. A dark face watched her interestedly from the mirror across the room.

"Lovely" it said "Lovely lovely love". It pushed closer to the surface of the mirror and left it altogether, entering the room where the blonde cried brokenly.

"Alone at last" Angelus said.

Buffy woke up with a start. She sucked in a deep breath and let in out shudderingly. _Breathe. _She reminded herself_, in and out and in and out and ignore the pain or more will come. _But more came anyway.

What was she going to do?

* * *

Giles paced the length of his apartment. Before him were Willow, Oz, Xander, Joyce, and for some reason, Anya, who he rather disliked.

"So Giles" said Xander whose cheerful attitude was grating on Giles' nerves rather badly. (He _was _feeling rather bad-tempered this morning. Oh well. More important issues at hand) "What's the what? Why are we here? And where is the Buffster?"

"I have some unfortunate news" Giles began. " I would like you all to remain calm and quiet as I explain what has happened."

"" said Joyce in a cold manner. "What does this have to do with Buffy? And why am I here? You know I want nothing to do with this Slayer business." She managed to make slayer sound like a curse word.

Giles knew that Joyce disliked him. Joyce resented his authority and his role in Buffy's life. She felt that he was stealing her precious daughter away from her and the life she wanted Buffy to lead. The kind of life that Buffy was never going to be able to lead. But he was surprised to hear the tone of her voice when she said the word Slayer. He suspected that Buffy's mother was emotionally abusive. She put unbearable pressure on her daughter to be exactly what Joyce wanted her to be. He, Giles, was not impressed with her at that moment.

"This has everything to do with Buffy" he said. "And it will have implications for us all. Joyce, " he turned to address her. "You are here because you need to hear this and because it is for your own safety."

He looked around the room. Everyone was paying attention.

"Angelus has somehow been released" he stated. Instant pandemonium ensued.

"Quiet!" he roared. Silence fell.

"From what he told Buffy it was a spell and Angel is permanently gone. I do not know if that is a lie or not. She said that he stated he was back and had said he wasn't going to try to suck the world into hell again or anything of that sort. From what she said and from what I have seen and read he appears to be back here for one thing only. Buffy"

"That monster wants to kill Buffy again?" asked Joyce. Giles was having a hard time identifying the emotion in her tone.

"I don't think it's quite that simple" he told her. "His actions now and indeed, some of his behavior the last time he was out indicate that he doesn't simply want to kill her. He just, well, wants her."

"He's obsessed" said Willow. "The last time he was out he stalked her"

Xander jumped in, "And tried to kill her. And all of us." Really? Did he honestly believe that. He, Giles, had known the truth. He suspected Buffy had a clue but no one had actually filled her in on some of the things she would have needed to know to fully understand what was happening. Giles hadn't believed it. Hadn't wanted to. But still, Angelus appeared to have almost been…courting… Buffy. He and the others had been very quick to ensure her that he was trying to throw her off her balance but some of the things he had done made him wonder. And then Jenny was dead and he was caught up in a blind rage and he forgot about intentions and focused on revenge. He was not proud of it but there it was.

"He could have easily done so. He had multiple opportunities with all of us. He would need less than a second. I can't pretend to know how his mind works but at the very least we should assume than Angelus will be after Buffy and will want more than to simply take her life." Giles said.

"She needs to kill him" said Xander with desperation and disgust in his voice.

"I'm very well aware of that fact, thank you" said Giles.

"What should we do" asked Willow. "I can try the resouling spell again just to be sure."

"No!-" Xander began just as Giles answered with a "Yes."

"It would save lives immediately if it worked. Furthermore, Buffy is going to need all of your support. She isn't as invincible as she can appear and she needs to know we are here for her. Any harsh treatment of her is ammunition that Angelus will use. He will no doubt be as kind to her as his, well, for lack of a better term, 'demonly pride' will allow him to be. We must show her that we're here for her and not berate her for things that are out of her control or happened in the past" he looked around the room meaningfully.

Xander looked angry. Willow looked nervous. Anya looked bored. And Joyce, she seemed bitter and angry for some reason. Oz looked his usual calm self.

"Okay" the werewolf said. "Hey, Giles, do you have a moment?"

* * *

Parker Abrams came to with a groan. His head felt like fucking shit. _God…what was I drinking. _He shook his head slightly to get his hair out of his eyes. When he looked up. There was a stone ceiling above him. _Huh, guess I got lucky last night._ He tried to sit up and found that he could not. He was strapped down to a table.

The boy looked round in panic. His eyes lighted upon manacles on the walls. There were various machines around the large, cold…dungeon? The rack he could identify from history classes and a device he believed was called an iron maiden. There was a rack of hundreds of knives on one of the walls. One was missing.

"Finally" a malevolent cruel voice spoke. "I was beginning to worry you would never wake up. It would be such a shame to have put you in a coma before I really inflicted any pain"

A tall beautiful man stepped out of the shadows towards Parker. He was playing with a gleaming silver knife with a wicked double edged blade. Upon his face was the cruelest smile that Parker had ever seen. Terror flooded every inch of his body.

"And believe me Parker" the man whispered, "I really want you to feel pain"

* * *

**_And there it is people! _**

**_Please review! I find feedback, both positive and negative enormously helpful. _**

**_I will try to update within the week. :)_**

**_OH! WAIT!_**

**_I don't know if I want to be positive or bash Willow, Xander, Giles, or Anya. (Or for that matter Cordelia, she and Doyle arent dead yet people!) Advice?_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_So here it is. Chapter 4. As promised, it contains Parker in Pain and some smut. :)_**

**_I am feeling fairly postitve towards this sotry as I have pretty much figured out where it is headed. Its is good to know what I am supposed to be writing:)_**

**_SO here is is and please enjoy!_**

**_-Sinead_**

* * *

Pain. It permeated Parker Abrams' entire being. That was all he was. One human shaped form of pain. He wasn't aware of anything else. He didn't know his name. How he got here. Or anything else. He screamed again, amazed he could still make the sound after so long as something was pulled out of his body. That was the last he knew before he lost consciousness.

When he later awoke he was pleasantly surprised to find that the excruciating pain that had enveloped his body was reduced to a dull ache all over with the exception of the lines of pain that covered his face and torso. He found he could, in fact, move all of his appendages and sat up. Then he realized that he _could_ sit up. Parker was no longer bound to the table and looked around the torture chamber with horrified, traumatized eyes before he realized that he was not alone. He started and his mouth fell open, his face a frozen mask of fear.

"Parker!" Angelus said genially. "How very nice to see you up! I'm so sorry I didn't have the chance to introduce myself last night. My name is Angelus and I will be torturing you to death slowly over as long of a period as I can draw it out for. You and I have quite a few issues to work out, boy, so your death will have to be one of the most excruciating and drawn-out ones I have done in a long time. And believe me, that is saying something when you have murdered as many people as I have."

Parker blanched.

"Wh-why are you do-doing this?" the boy stuttered, shrinking back in fear. The master vampire rolled his eyes.

"Why am I doing this? Well, there are a great many reasons Parker. One is that I just don't like you, you are kind of weasely, remind me of an old pal who I also enjoyed torturing. Two, this is what I do for fun. It's not quite as good as fucking a Slayer but it will do in the meantime. And three, three, well, my honor demands it! You, Parker, could use a few lessons on how to treat women. Or more specifically how to treat my woman. You implied you were…intimate…with her, and it is my husbandly duty to defend her honor, after all. Wouldn't want to shirk my responsibilities just when I am getting her back, now do I?"

The boy stared at him in mute horror. Angelus doubted that he had comprehended anything that he had just said. Ah, well, he had weeks before he planned on ending this boy. And he had barely scratched the surface. He cut him up a little more to scare him than anything else. And then he had brought out the needles. He had learned the art of acupuncture some time ago. It was remarkably easy to cause tremendous pain with fairly little damage to the body. _Such a useful skill…pity I killed that old man I forced to teach me. His family was delicious. _He desperately needed to inflict agonizing pain on Parker without damaging him too much. The mutilation that would follow needed to be connected with Buffy so the boy would know exactly _why_ this was happening to him.

"Parker," Angelus said, "this could have been easily avoided. Had you not made one monumentally stupid decision you would likely have never crossed my path except as food. Would you like to know the reason you are going to die so brutally"

The terrified boy shook his head no.

"Why ever not? Ah, well, I think it would be good for you to know anyway. The reason you are here is Buffy."

The boy looked at him with great shock and what Angelus considered to be a healthy amount of fear.

"Su-summers?" the boy stammered.

"The very same" the mercurial vampire smiled. It was not a pleasant sight. There were a lot of teeth involved and even more cruelty.

The boy was unable to respond to that. Angelus decided that for the young mortal, intelligence was clearly not a strong point.

"You claimed to have slept with Buffy. Now fortunately for her I know that you were lying. You actually are quite fortunate that you did not for if you did I would make this a thousand times worse. I would also kill every family member of yours in front of you as well as any one I think you could possibly care about before making your existence the most miserable one conceivable. You will still beg for death before our time is over but at least it will be a matter of weeks before it is granted instead of years. Now, before I begin, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

The boy gaped at him in horror.

"Pity." Angelus stated. "Shall we begin then?"

"NO!" Parker screamed hoarsely. "NO, no please, I'm sorry, don't do this to be" he begged, screaming.

"Begging already?" asked Angelus, amused. "Not a bit o defiance, boyo? Aren't ya even goin ta try and stop me then"

Somehow the fact that he slipped into a brough terrified Parker more than anything said to him. The cruel amusement was gone and in its place was a sadistic anger that was easily the most terrifying thing he had seen in his twenty-one years.

"I am going to leave you here Parker." said the terrifying man. "I am going to lock you in this room and let you explore. Anticipation is a wonderful thing and I think it would be very fitting for you to see everything I am going to use on you before I do. After all, I intend to use this-" and here he brandished a device that looked like a melon baller "-to remove your eyes at some point and it would be very disappointing to me if you were unable to appreciate the brilliance of my work. I have some business to attend to and will be back shortly. Have a nice day!" Here he tossed the tool to Parker who failed to catch to and was frozen even as Angelus exited the room, whistling Danny boy, and locked the door behind him.

The fear in that room was so tangible that even a human could taste it on their tongue.

Drusilla was not a stupid vampire. Insane? Yes. But stupid? Not usually.

She had accepted the inevitable and knew that her daddy would never again be hers. Last time she tried to deny the fact that daddy was supposed to be with the Slayer it hadn't worked out very well. She should have known better than to stop what the stars said would be and realized that whether she liked it or not, the Slayer was for daddy just as surely as she was for the Angel-beast.

So Drusilla smiled her enigmatic smile as she killed a young woman and continued on her way to Sunnydale. She would be arriving shortly and wanted to get to her Spike before daddy did. Or those nasty soldiers.

"No! Bad boy!" she said. "Naughty dog. Slayer is daddy's!" she whined at the picture of the Labrador who was tugging on the hem of the Slayer's dress as daddy tried to escort her to the ball. She sighed with relief when Angelus kicked the dog in the ribs and it fell over dead.

She reminded herself that the Slayer, her new mummy, would need her and that daddy would need her too. His Dru would always be his favorite childe, the stars told her, the Slayer was a mate and that was different.

Only a day or two before she reached the Hellmouth. Drusilla smiled widely. She was going to have so much fun. Such a lovely party was coming.

Buffy had gone about her day in a daze. She had stumbled through her classes. Taking notes automatically and attempting to show as little emotion as possible. She couldn't do it again. She just couldn't.

"Buffy?" Willow asked her.

She gave a strained smile.

"Yes?"

"I, um, need to talk to you"

Giles had been furious. When Oz informed him, with concern etched on his usually stoic features, that Willow had been influencing Buffy with magic he exploded.

Willow was breaking one of the fundamental rules of magic, behaving in an entirely unethical manner, put Buffy in serious danger, and a whole lot of other things that he couldn't even begin to get into.

Oz wasn't exactly sure what Willow had done but repeated what she had told him to Giles.

"It sounds like a simple compulsion spell"said Giles. "But it could be a great deal more tricky than that. Get Willow in here please."

Oz fetched Willow in from Giles' living room. She froze once she saw the expression on his face.

"You stupid little girl!" he hissed at her. "Do you have any idea what you've done!"

It was a much abashed and meekend Willow that confessed to Buffy what she had done.

"Oh" Buffy responded.

"Oh?" Willow echoed. "That's it!"

"What else can I say?" said the Chosen One.

"I don't know. Do you hate me? Aren't you angry?"

"I am angry, Willow" said Buffy, "But although I know that I should be angry right now there are a few other things on my mind".

"But I influenced you?" said Willow.

"I know. But you were only trying to help. At least you knew something was wrong. That I was dying without Angel. What you did made nothing better but I don't think it made anything worse. The others- it seemed like they all assume that I'm okay. That I could ever in a million years get over Angel"

Willow remembered all too well some of the pain Buffy had been in. The blonde Slayer was very good at pretending everything was okay, she had years of practice after all, but she couldn't pretend in her sleep. Willow had watched Buffy at night with a kind of horrified fascination as the Slayer screamed and begged and cried and pleaded. She knew that Buffy was not okay.

So after a few nights she had tried the spell. It was an old one, causing the person to have a more positive lookout on life in general. Willow had then performed a mild compulsion spell to make her best friend more willing to date again.

To some extent it had worked; Willow was no longer awakened by Buffy's restless despair. On the other hand, three nights ago Willow had woken up needing to go to the bathroom. Buffy had been whimpering. Giles had explained to her that she hadn't eased Buff's burden, she had merely numbed her, not just to pain, but to all emotions. It was no wonder Buffy had been so apathetic.

"I-"Willow began.

"It's fine Wills, really" /buffy said with a note of strain in her voice. "I need to do a quick etrol tonight before we meet up at Giles' place to decide what to do."

Willow stared at her friend. Surely it was obvious….

"Buffy-" she began again.

"It's fine" Buffy repeated.

"No. Not that. About…Angelus" Willow watched Buffy wince.

"Yes?" the petite blonde asked very quietly.

"We can try the re-ensouling spell but if that doesn't work…"

"It won't. I know Willow." Said Buffy before she swept out of the room to do a sweep of the cemeteries.

"She didn't even let me finish a sentence" the redhead muttered.

Buffy's head was spinning as she stumbled through Restfield Cemetery. The implications of what Willow had said were only just beginning to sink in. _Was the spell still active?_ she wondered. She had only dusted one fledge and the local vamps didn't seem particularly cooperative that night. _Pity. Perhaps some violence would do me some good, get rid of this fog. _So absorbed was she in her own thoughts that she failed to notice the group of vampires stalking up behind her.

But Drusilla didn't.

So when a group of seven vampires attacked Buffy their leader was quite wrong in saying.

"You are going to die, Slayer. And no one will hear you scream."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Three of the vampires jumped on Buffy at once and knocked her to the ground. No doubt more would have had there been more room. But these vamps were all large and muscular and male and Buffy was 5'3" and just over a hundred pounds. Only so many of them could attack her at once.

On the ground, winded though she was, she managed to stake one vamp and break another's nose with her elbow. She bucked the third one off and the fight began in earnest. This was no ordinary battle for Buffy. It was not too uncommon to be attacked by more than one vamp. What was unusual was the larger size of this group and the fact that her assailants were all good fighters. They clearly had training. _So, who is trying to kill me now? _She wondered.

The fight wore on. Buffy had managed to rid herself of an additional three vampires but had endured some nasty hits. She was going to be black and blue the next morning. She staked another vampire. _Tow more to go Summers. _Unfortunately they were the biggest and nastiest two and she was feeling very very tired. The moved away from her, circling. One leapt at her and she exchanged a rapid series of blows and staked him. Then she was promptly knocked unconscious by the vampire behind her. He grinned down nastily at her.

"How do you like that, Slayer?" he growled. "Carmilla is going to be very pleased. I bet I get to fuck you both."

A keening noise was heard behind him. He whirled to see a dark haired vampress looking at him reproachfully.

"What the fuck do you want you bitch" he snarled. The mad-eyed vampire continued to look at him reproachfully.

"You're spoiling the party" she said. "Why are you spoiling the party?"

"Crazy bitch" he man muttered before turning back to his prize. He laughed with glee as he looked at his prize. And went on laughing right up until his heart was pulled from his chest by the dark-haired vampress whom he had turned his back on.

Drusilla smiled.

Angelus was just about to exit the mansion to go hunting when he was greeted by a surprising sight. Drusilla, his maddened chide whom he had thought to be in South America, was walking towards him carrying Buffy in her arms. After a brief moment of panic that passed once he heard her strong heartbeat, he relaxed and decided to see where this went.

"Daddy!" his childe cried happily. Angelus raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, Dru. What do you have there?" this was an explanation he would be very interested in hearing. His childe gave him a crafty smile.

"The slayer was hunting and some naughty boys caught her. Tsk tsk. Their master gave command and the hounds attacked and mummy danced but then she hit her head. The bad doggies thought to drag home their prize for their mistress. Bad! She is The Countess and she is coming and she wants mummy" Drusilla sang.

Angelus was floored.

For one, the fact that there was a new player coming to town was certainly a surprise and displeasing and for another the fact that a gang of vampires managed to knock Buffy out was frankly disturbing. But really, all that paled in significance to what Dru had called Buffy. Mummy, she had said, mummy. A title of respect from Dru and one that he doubted Buffy had actively done anything to incur. Which could only mean one thing. Drusilla not only knew that he wanted Buffy but she approved.

Bizarre was not even beginning to cover it.

But hey, he wasn't complaining. Her presence and apparent compliance saved him the time of tracking, retrieving, and torturing her until she acquiesced to his demands again. It was extremely nice to have Dru here and she could prove very useful.

He smiled and gently took Buffy from Drusilla's arms.

"You did good Dru. I am very pleased with you. Is Spike with you?" he doubted it but wanted to make sure.

"No" she sighed. "My Spike was a naughty boy disobeying you but he meant well, daddy. He wants to hate but wants to care and his head was all tangled up in knots." She sighed.

"He's been after Buffy, Dru. I won't tolerate it." He warned. She let out a whimper.

"But he needs to know daddy. And he wants to blame her but he's wrong and he wants to come back but he thinks we'll never be a family again."

Angelus considered this briefly. It was quite a feat in itself since he had Buffy's soft, warm body nestled up in his arms. He usually disliked Spike but they had some good times in the past and Dru seemed to want her boy back. Most of the animosity had stemmed from his possession of Drusilla, Spike's mate, than anything else. He suspected that Spike would be quite content to live under him again if he was no longer interested in the dark-haired vampress. And he truly wasn't. Hadn't been in ages. She had been a convenient and talented fuck and that was all he had wanted from her. And now that there was Buffy, how could he be interested in Drusilla?

He nodded. "I'll think about it" he said.

He turned to take Buffy upstairs to his room, his cock stiffening in appreciation of his desptination and the girl in his arms.

"Daddy" Drusilla called. Turneing back with a growl he said,

"What is it, Dru?"

"Mummy is under a spell. She cannot feel; she cannot touch. She feels to much so they seek to dull it but take more than her pain"

His eyes narrowed.

"Thank you, Dru" he said.

Those fucking bastards! They would pay for this! Daring to mess with Buffy;s emotions? A slow and painful death awaited them all.

He wanted her pain. He wanted her anger. He wanted her passion, her love, her fire, everything.

He wanted her. Not a muffled echo of her personality.

So first things first he decided. When he reached his room he would remove any spells on her before anything else.

Buffy felt nice. She was warms and felt very safe and there was a lovely sensation building between her legs. She shifted slightly and moaned. God, that felt good. She shifted again, stretched like a cat and opened her eyes. She found herself staring up at a deep burgundy canopy. She sucked in a surprised breath. _Where the hell am I? _Panicked, she tried to sit up. Only to find that she couldn't because she was, in fact, tied to the bedposts. She thrashed, trying to break free, terrified.

A large male hand was placed on her stomach and gently pushed her down.

"Shhh, it's alright Buff" Angelus said.

She let out a chocked gasp that was a mix of anger, relief, and embarrassment.

"What the hell-"she began.

"You really ought to be more careful darling" he said, stroking her stomach idly.

"Drusilla tells me that you were knocked out by a vampire from a group you were fighting. If she hadn't been there…" and his hands tightened painfully on her hips. "But no matter," he continued, "You're safe now."

She made a strangled choking sound. "Safe…" she began.

"Naturally." He interrupted, pressing a wet, openmouthed kiss to her stomach.

"Let me go" she insisted weakly. He crawled up her body to kiss her passionately. She let out a moan.

"Mmmm," Angelus said, "I don't think so lover, after all, you've only just arrived." He moved his mouth to attack her breasts. As he hungrily moved his mouth over them he spoke to her in between kisses, licks, and nips. He praised her beauty and her responsiveness, crooning endearments to her in foreign languages.

Buffy was helpless under his onslaught, her inexperience making him impossible to resist. She was still extremely inexperienced when it came to carnality, having only her one, beautiful night with Angel. So as he roused her higher she was unable to stop him and soon became a writhing mess. Logic and rational thought had no place in the blonde's head. She only knew the pleasure that he was giving her and the tension coiling low inside her stomach.

When he put his lips to her sex again she exploded. Gasping, arching her back, she let out a cry of pleasure. Angelus smirked to see his young lover so responsive. Before she had finished he went back to his self imposed task again. Bringing her to peak numerous times with his mouth and hands.

Buffy was mindless with pleasure, but felt empty, her insides were clenching frantically and there was nothing there. She moaned as her lover stopped his actions just as she was about to climax. He kissed the inside of her thigh and she whimpered. He continued to torment her but this time he wouldn't let her fall over the edge and she was aroused to the point of pain. He moved up her body, his weight pressing agreeably on her, to claim her lips in a domineering kiss.

"Mine" he growled. "Mine. My beautiful darling girl. Do you want to come lovely?"

Buffy whimpered and nodded.

"Ah. But I need to hear you say it my love. Invite me in, sweetling." He crooned in her ear. Then he moved down to nip at his mark on her neck. She gasped and arched under his body.

"Do you want to come, Buff" he growled again.

"Yes!" she gasped pressing herself closer to him. Quick as a flash he positioned himself at her entrance and slowly pushed himself into her. When he was nearly as the way in she let out a whimper of pain as something twinged painfully inside her. He stilled and looked down at her.

"My almost virgin," he murmured, "I was so gentle that last time I didn't even break all the way through. You've been a good girl Buffy. I am going see you rewarded for that, darling"

He fucked her slowly but deeply and played her body like a master easily bringing her to climax in minutes. His hand had snaked between their bodies to toy with her over-sensitized clit. He seemed to be pushing her to some final goal as he shoved her to climax again and again, never allowing himself to lose his control despite the fact that she was squeezing him so hard when her muscles fluttered in climax that it was nearly impossible not to. Just as Buffy was about to fall into ecstasy for what was to be the final time Angelus sped up his thrusts, going so deep into her that she felt his cock butting the head of her womb. He felt his own climax was impending.

"Angelus" she gasped as her muscles began their telltale rhythm. He snarled in response and sank his fangs deep into her neck taking several deep pulls of her magical blood. The climaxed almost simultaneously and the ecstasy became too much for Buffy and she blacked out. Angelus' strength gave out and he collapsed on her, careful not to crush her small frame. It was several moments before he was able to raise his head and look at his young lover with a mixture of deep satisfaction, awe, possessiveness, and a tenderness that was foreign to the demon's features. He gave the closing wound on her neck several lazy licks before rolling them over so his body was curled around her, spooning her small frame.

The demon with the face of an Angel purred deeply.

* * *

**_Next chapter will bring more pain, more smut, and something with slightly more semblance to a plot. It was pretty damn tricky to figure out how I was going to get Buffy in Angelus' bed so quickly. Thankfully Dru (who I happen to adore) helped me out. _**

**_Next chapter we will get to see what some of our more neglected characters have been up to. Cordelia, Doyle, and Lindeay will all hopefully make appearences. _**

**_PLEASE REVIEW. It is very helpful, makes me a better writer, and it motivates me to write quicker. (Though I think I am updating pretty quickly!)_**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 :D

_**Sorry for the delay. Writer's block is a bitch. This is shorter than I'd have liked but hey, I finally managed to write something for this. Thanks for everyone's patience and kind reviews. I hope you enjoy this!**_

_**

* * *

**_

Buffy slowly came to. She felt languorous and delicious and wicked and couldn't remember why. Everything was a pleasurable haze and she didn't want to open her eyes and ruin it. And why would it ruin it? She wondered. What would opening her eyes do that…

Oh fuck.

Buffy sat up straight with a bolt and found herself alone in her dorm room. _What the…_ She was confused. And now that she thought about it, more than a little annoyed. If she remembered correctly her demon lover(not lover, enemy, he was not her lover no matter what she may have wished otherwise)had screwed the living daylights out of her and then he just dumped her back in her own room? She so did not feel appreciated. And then of course, she felt guilty about wanting to wake up next to him.

She just couldn't win

She was dressed, she realized, but not in the clothes she had gone patrolling in. Then it had been a black tank and her grey yoga pants. _Now she was in a-_she scrambled out of bed to look at herself-_a dress. _

A blood red silk dress. She glanced at herself in the mirror. She looked like a woman come from her lover's bed. She looked sensuous and lovely and rumpled. She didn't look like herself, or at least, not like she saw herself. She hardly recognized the passionate creature staring back at her with wide eyes. At least her eyes were the same, she noted with relief.

She gave a darting glance around the room and realized that by her bedside table were two red roses, twined together, their bloody and passionate hue a startling contrast to the smooth ivory envelope they were placed on. A letter, she noted with no small amount of apprehension. She wasn't sure that she could take what was written there.

She picked up the letter and slid her finger under the lip, where it came to rest at a red seal with an ornate "A" stamped in a hardened pool of red wax. He was sticking with red, she noted. Red, the color of blood. The color of passion.

She trembled as she cracked open the seal. Buffy stared at the innocent piece of ivory paper where it lay folded in the envelope. It was heavy and smooth. She could see the fibers of it and imagined that this was the sort of paper on which royal decrees were written, on which treaties were drawn up, or maybe a lord would send his mistress a love letter on this sort of paper. She gave her head a slight shake and drew out the paper. As she pulled it out, a silver flash fell to the ground and she numbly bent to pick it up. She rolled the edge of a fine silver chain in her fingertips and the pendant that dangled from it twirled and caught the light. It was a ruby heart encased in two hands. It was topped with a crown.

She remembered eons ago, before she had met the unpredictable demon, before curses and hell and heartbreak, when she and Angel had talked about jewelry. One of her mother's boyfriends had given her earrings and Buffy, sick of hearing about her mother's dating life when she had been trying to tell her about something she thought important at the time, had complained to her boyfriend. After venting, her enigmatic sweetheart had distracted her with stories of gems that nations had fought over. Rubies, he had told her, represented purity. Purity, but also passion.

Her tongue poked it's way between her lips and she took a deep breath. It meant nothing, she told herself. She slowly and carefully unfolded the letter.

_**Escape me?**_

_**Never-**_

_**Beloved!**_

_**While I am I, and you are you,**_

_**So long as the world contains us both,**_

_**Me the loving and you the loth**_

_**While the one eludes, must the other pursue**_.

_**Until next, my golden girl, think of me**_

_** -A**_

Buffy trembled. This was truth, she knew, he would pursue her, he would pursue her to the ends of the earth and inevitably, he would possess her. Unless….. Unless she killed him, and the thought terrified her. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she angrily dashed at them. She was feeling all too much. It was overwhelming. After Angel had left, she had been a wreak for a few weeks, but she had pulled herself together and distanced herself from her emotions, becoming numb over time. Angel had always made her feel out of control, and Angelus wasn't any different. He was worse, even. Worse because he knew, knew exactly what effect he had on her and was certainly not afraid to manipulate it.

Buffy didn't know if she could go through this again.

* * *

Angelus paced around his bedroom. He was worried. He snorted, taking a moment to appreciate just how bizarre the situation was. He, Angelus, worried about how Buffy would feel when she woke up. It was pretty damn disturbing to say the least. He could always just kill her, but, well, he knew he didn't want to. He hadn't even been able to do it last time he had been free. Instead, he had acted like an enormous ass and now he was going to have to face the consequences of it.

He growled. That was another bizarre situation. For as long as he had been a vampire, with the exception of his first few years with Darla, he had been able to do pretty much whatever he pleased, consequences be damned. But unfortunately, actually caring about something, even worse, loving someone meant that was no longer the case…Well, only for Buffy. He'd be damned if he compromised for anyone else, and besides, once he was convinced it was time to turn her, he doubted he would ever have to do so again.

He really did appreciate the luxury of being the Master, the alpha, at the top of his order. Ironically, he had Buffy and *cringe* _the soul_ to thank for that. There was no one left that he had to answer to. Probably a good thing. He _was_ a control freak.

Which brought him back to his current predicament. He knew that short of chaining Buffy up and drugging her, there was no way he could keep her somewhere she didn't want to be for a long period of time, so he knew he couldn't keep her at the mansion. He suspected she needed time to adjust to the new situation, and he could afford her a little, just not enough for her to fully get her bearings and figure out how to restore Angel or something like that. He didn't trust those bastards at Wolfram & Hart and was loath to simply take their word at his supposed invincibility to any soul restoration.

But he knew, he _knew_ just how deeply he had shattered her with his cruel words to her the night after she had given him her virginity. He was loath to further damage her self-confidence. It really did him no good, because it made her much more reliant on her friends' wishes. He wanted her to choose him freely, and that meant that had to make her feel cherished and loved and revered. He worried that despite his gifts and letter, she would take it badly that he had taken her home.

Hell, he wasn't even sure if he had made the right decision. Now angry with himself, her, her stupid little friends, and generally the rest of the world, he threw a beautiful ceramic vase into the wall. It shattered into tiny pieces. He pinched the bridge of his nose. All this, this _brooding_, was getting him nowhere. He shook his head. There were better outlets for his rage than beautiful art. Like the frat boy currently chained in his basement. He would do nicely for starters, and eventually the sun would rise enough that he would be able to sleep.

His decision made, he sauntered down to the basement, whistling again. _This should be fun_, he thought cruelly. _Wonder if the boy missed me?_

His leather boots whispered as he padded down to the basement. A chilling stillness pervaded the air, as though his rage was tangible to the very atoms of his element, and they were frightened of him. And who wouldn't be?

As soon as he entered the basement, Parke launched a pathetically clumsy attack on him, attempting to stab him with a knife. Angelus backhanded him with a meaty sound and the boy flew into the wall with twin cracking sounds and slid to the floor. He let out a wailing yell. Angelus was too angry to be amused.

"What?" he taunted cruelly. "Did you honestly think I would be that easy? I who am feared by all, the deadliest of my kind? I'm the demon that other demons are frightened of, boy. I've been alive longer than you can imagine and have done things you could barely stomach thinking about. I'm the Scourge of fucking Europe. Did you honestly think even for a second that you could best me?"

Parker whimpered.

"Truly pathetic." He started walking casually towards the boy.

"Don't hurt me," he pleaded.

"Don't be stupid." Angelus frowned. English. He had spoken it, hadn't he? Was this pathetic little bug so infuriatingly insipid that he couldn't understand his native tongue? Was it really that much to ask? He exhaled angrily. Time for a change of plans.

"Change of plans Parker," he snarled, his face shifting, bones changing and marring, eyes becoming golden. "I've lost my patience with you. I'm going to skip right over blunt and hot and all that rubbish and move onto something a little more satisfying for me. Evisceration." He hauled the boy up by the scruff of his neck and pinned the struggling boy to the wall. Ignoring his frantic struggles, he easily chained Parker's limbs the wall and grabbed the knife that had been discarded when Parker had attacked him. Then he paused.

"Well, first I'll skin you," he decided. "I need a souvenir, you know?, Actually, I haven't done this in a while. I guess I'm a little out of practice. Tell you what, first I'll pull out your organs, then I'll skin you alive. I'm reasonably sure I can keep you alive for the duration of it, but I guess we'll have to try it to be sure."

At this point, Parker was screaming uncontrollably. Unable to control his reactions he gave himself over to terror. At some point, he ceased to be human and all that remained was animal instinct. However, it didn't do him much good.

In the end he died. Not with peace. Not with dignity. But in such agony that was only reachable by Angelus on earth or by the minions of hell. And in the end, Parker was no Casanova, no Don Juan, he was a corpse, or rather, a corpse and the skin of what used to be a sentient being.

* * *

Across Sunnydale, in a decrepit mansion abandoned long before much of the rest of the town was even built, the Countess waited. She cut an admittedly striking figure. She was a tall woman, slender and she had been blessed with good looks. She had glossy raven black hair and wore a clinging dress of red silk and black lace. Her lips were painted red.

And while she may have looked like a laughable cliché, no one in her presence was stupid enough to tell her that.

"Why are they not returned yet?" she demanded of her manservant in a heavy accent.

"I know not, Countess," he replied nervously. Her face shifted to her vampire visage.

"What!" she snarled imperiously.

"But I go look now!" the portly man exclaimed. He looked like a stereotypical Russian mob boss. Overweight, tacky gold jewelry, greasy black hair…It wasn't an attractive picture.

"I must have slayer!" the woman stated emphatically. The man nodded vigorously.

"I must be rest-restored!" The man nodded again. It was clearly a good move. The woman sighed and relaxed a bit.

"I must preserve my youthful beauty," she reminded him, "and bathe in her blood." The man nodded.

Whether or not the woman was a youthful beauty was up for debate. She was attractive, but not young, or she didn't look young, rather, most vampires being what they were. She had the appearance of a sophisticated woman, an attractive, handsome one. She did not however, appear young. There are some women, whom though they reach ages of forty, fifty, sixty, and remain very beautiful. She was one such, but her elegance did not give her the appearance of a young beauty. She was clearly not a girl.

Unfortunately, the denial and delusions of girlhood had not deserted her. Pity.

* * *

Giles was panicking. Drinking (and rather early in the morning too), and running his hands through his hair repeatedly were not conducive to solving the numerous problems that were now plaguing him, but yet, here he was. How had everything gotten so out of control?

Buffy was missing, Angelus was back and the resouling attempt had proved fruitless when Giles was unable to locate Angel's soul in the _aether_. Apparently Angelus had told Buffy the truth. Smug bastard. That was another problem. Giles hated Angelus, hated him for several reason and all of them were good. He had murdered Jenny and set her up in a macabre staging for him to find, tormented and taunted his Slayer, the girl he thought more frequently of as a daughter.

Buffy herself had already been a source of worry for Giles, and no matter what he tried, be it distancing himself or offering full support, she hadn't been acting right. And then to find out that Willow had been stupid and secure in her own limited magical abilities to try to _fix_ Buffy? She had broken many of the fundamental rules and Giles was considering binding her magic just to ensure she didn't try something like this again. But with Angelus on the loose he was loath to take away anyone's power.

The door was opening. Giles grabbed a crossbow and aimed it to the door; it may have been daytime, but not all demons required darkness, or an invitation. Buffy walked in wearing a blood red silk dress. She looked dazed. Not at all like herself. Giles quickly lowered the weapon.

"Buffy?" he asked, leading her to a chair.

"I don't know what to do, Giles," she whispered. "I can't win." He was unsure if she was referring to her life or to the situation with Angelus but either way….

"It'll be alright Buffy,' he said. She looked at him, her expression slightly wry.

"Really, how?" she said. Giles had no response.

* * *

Angelus stepped out of his shower and toweled himself off. He quickly went through the motions of getting ready for the night and wrenched open his closet to grab some clothes. His mind was still spinning. He wasn't sure what to do anymore. His close proximity to Buffy was driving him wild. He was now regretting not turning her. Earlier, he had wanted to torment her a bit more, kill her friends, make her dependant on him, and ensure she loved him but now… Now he just wanted to turn her.

She might not be quite as amenable as a vampire at first, true, but there were ways and ways to deal with that. And he would rather like to see her kill her friends. Not all of them of course, and he had first dibbs on them all, but it would be amazing to watch her kill say, Willow, and watch the betrayal and fear in her eyes. And then there was Joyce. Family blood was always the sweetest, though he himself really owed Joyce for that speech she had made that drove the souled idiot away from Buffy.

Then there were other things to attend to. Spike for instance. Though really, what did that require? All he really needed to do was torture Spike until he remembered his place. And then a bit more for old time's sake.

And then there was this "Countess" that Dru was babbling about. It sounded as though she were a threat to Buffy, and so not something to tolerate…

What to do, what to do…. There were a great many options but now he could no longer do exactly what he wanted with no regard at all for anyone else. But Buffy was still the only exception, a small one, but still. So it was decided then, he would turn Buffy immediately ensuring both her safety, and his delight.

Angelus was relieved.

* * *

"It's a good plan," Buffy said quietly. Giles nodded absently.

"It is," he agreed quietly. "Buffy," he hesitated, "Is there anything more I can do?" She shook her head.

"No," she said. "I'll just deal on my own, as always. The best thing we can do is to start immediately. We only have a few hours until sundown, and I think Angel isn't playing anymore."

Giles nodded and left. Buffy met her own eyes in a mirror across the sitting room.

"And so it begins," she murmured.

* * *

_**Reviews are always really helpful, :) Thanks to everyone who has been doing so for this story, it was really helpful and a great motivation. **_


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hey! Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I have been having a hard time with this story but now I feel like I know where it is going. Unfortunately, I am also super busy and don;t know when I will update next. Thanks for the patience and great reviews I have gotten. I really appreciate them! _**

**_I am hoping to get this story finished up soon so that I can focus more on I Spy. And a large variety of unfinished stories that are languishing on my hard drive. Maybe two more chapters? That would be my best estimate. Thanks again and enjoy!_**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Doyle winced. Cordelia was crying again. This had not been how things were supposed to turn out.

He had thought that things would be decent when he had headed to the City of Angels. And until recently, they had been. Angel had proved to be less of an ass than Doyle would have guessed, and the two Irishmen were becoming friends. Angel Investigations was doing good work helping people.

For him, things had been looking up. Angel was becoming a real friend, and more importantly, he was becoming a real friend to Angel. But it hadn't been enough in the end. Wolfram and fucking Hart had taken the kind, intelligent man that Angel had been , and unleashed a cruel, vicious, deadly killer, that would probably kill everyone Angel had ever cared about with a song in his heart.

And Cordelia….

Doyle was in love with her. He had fallen fast for the sometimes-shallow brunette who hid a big heart behind sarcasm and shoes. He wanted to grow old and die with her. The unfortunate irony was that he would probably achieve the latter.

Her whimpers subsided.

"Doyle?" she asked. He turned his head to look at her from where they were both chained to a cold stone wall.

"Yeah princess?" he responded gently.

"Are we ever gonna get out of here?" she asked, her eyes pleading _lie to me_. So he did.

"Of course we are," he told her, "And when we do, I'll stop being a coward and ask you out and take you to some horribly expensive restaurant and probably end up spilling something on your dress." She sniffed and gave him a watery smile.

"I'll kick your ass," she promised. He smiled at her.

"Well then I guess I'll have to spend the next month trying to get back into your good graces," he told her with his most charming smile.

"Give it two, buster," she retorted. His face had an expression of horror on it.

"Cordy! You're a cruel lass!" he said, "You wound me princess!" She managed a watery laugh.

"Take me to the pier instead," she commanded. He smiled at her.

"Okay," he breathed. The creak of an opening door shattered his illusions of a happy life with Cordelia. The quick echo of feet down a stairway further heightened his decent into terror. A minion with a cell phone in hand approached them, not speaking,

"Hey, boyo," Doyle said, "What are you doing? Is the big bad too scared to come tell us hello?" His weak attempt at bravado didn't make him feel any better. The minion reached over to Cordelia and put his hands around her neck.

"Stop!" Doyle screamed, but there was a snapping sound. Doyle screamed again, a wordless expression of rage and loss. And then as hands encircled his own neck there was nothing but oblivion.

* * *

Giles was frowning. "I really don't like this," he said. "This…Countess figure you mentioned. She has quite a reputation. She was the infamous Elizabeth Báthory before she was ah, turned into a vampire and it sounds as though she has not given up her, er, fixation with ah, bathing on blood. Or her obsession with youth, although an immortal retains youth…"

"So she's crazy?" Buffy asked.

"It would appear so. Unfortunately, far too much rumor and speculation surrounds her and it is very difficult to determine what is truth and what is legend. And more importantly, to determine how much of a threat she poses."

"If she's crazy, how much of a threat…" _Oh. Angelus. Drusilla. They certainly hadn't had all their marbles in place, and look at the damage they had wreaked. Especially on Giles…._

Giles and Buffy did not speak for a moment.

"You called the others?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes, I informed them that they should stay in tonight and that with luck this would be taken care of," he said. Buffy gave a sigh of relief.

"Good," she said, "I don't think I can protect them on top of everything else." Giles nodded. All too often, her friends became a liability in battle. The unfortunate fact was that humans, no matter how well informed, were simply weaker than vampires. Still, Buffy's friends had some success during the summer she'd been absent after the ordeal with Acathla….

Too much came back to Angelus.

"Er, are you ready?" Giles asked, brandishing the syringe. Buffy winced.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered. Buffy shook her head.

"Let's just get this over with," she said. Giles stepped forward and disinfected her arm before carefully inserting the needle. Buffy stared at the ceiling and Giles could hear her humming something that sounded like '_not in a hospital not in a hospital hi ho mumble mumble just hunting_ _vampires'_.

He pulled back the syringe filled with blood.

"Ah, this should do the trick," he said. Buffy nodded.

"And I guess being scared is actually an upside here, since fear would be more realistic and make the blood taste better," she said. Giles looked disturbed.

"Er, yes, that is to say-, well, you should be off then," he said.

"Dusk is here and I expect this countess will begin hunting you tonight bec-"

"Because of the full moon creepy ritual thingy," Buffy finished. "But geez, I mean, she's not even a werewolf. What's her stitch?"

Giles looked at her sternly. "The Full moon affects many creatures of the night, Buffy. The moon is a powerful force. There is even some speculation that it affects vampires."

"Yeah," Buffy said. "Just like the speculation about them being all tragic, running rock bands, and sleeping in coffins." Giles had the grace to look mildly embarrassed.

"Ah, yes then," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Perhaps we should set out then?" Buffy nodded, the small smile disappearing and the Slayer and her Watcher were out the door.

* * *

They said that spontaneity was good for the soul. He wouldn't know, as a moment of spontaneous had gotten rid of it, but he supposed that it could be good for a demon as well. Angelus was tired of waiting, and he had decided that he wasn't too keen on conducting an elaborate plan to drive Buffy into his arms. She didn't have to be willing to die. It would take months to get her to that state and he didn't feel like waiting around. He was going to grab her, turn her (preferably during a bout of marathon sex), and then take off for Europe. He was sick of California anyway. And what was the point of being the Scourge of Europe in the States?

Sometimes, he admitted to himself, he tended to get caught up in grandiose plans when he could just move a lot quicker. Buffy would continue to defy him until he crushed her spirit, and though the idea of seeing her broken and helpless at his feet did hold a certain appeal, he most certainly did not want another Drusilla. And he wanted an equal, albeit, one who knew he was still in charge of the hierarchy. Age before beauty and all that.

She'd probably be a defiant and willful little thing once he turned her, but he knew how to deal with that. She couldn't possibly be as annoying as Spike anyway, and he would be willing to devote far more time to her…education.

Sometimes fast was the way to go. He had ordered Doyle and that bitch Cordelia killed. It was a pity he didn't have the time to do it himself, but then, he did have priorities. Besides, here in Sunnydale there were Willow, that thrice damned little witch, and her little pet werewolf. Giles was there, and there was really nothing like killing your father. Watching Buffy make work of hers would be a pleasure indeed. And then there was the whelp. Even soul-boy had wanted to kill that one. Angelus would string him up, eviscerate him, and skin him alive. Perhaps a pair of Harris leather boots awaited him. There was Joyce, the negligent drunk who couldn't appreciate his baby. And then there was that blond oaf who had been with Buffy at the Halloween party he had attended. He would definitely die. Slowly.

He watched the last vestiges of the light slowly slip away and internally bemoaned the loss of the Ring of Amara. What he wouldn't give to go out in the daylight. The freedom he could have been afforded by the ring grated on his nerves. And it was a testy vampire that set out for Restfield that night. He stalked through the town, snacking on a pair of idiotic teens on the way. He would want to be full when he turned Buffy, or else her delectable blood might just tempt him to kill her, and if she died…

Well, he would make the world her funeral pyre.

The gates of the cemetery loomed before him, and he felt Buffy's presence dancing on the edge of his nerves. And then he smelt it. Her blood.

He snarled, and his game face emerged.

* * *

Buffy was perched on top of a mausoleum, hidden from view by the tall, unsightly ridge on top of the structure and a conveniently placed tree. A tombstone that stood in clear view from her vantage point had blood on the corner that had trickled down into the grass. Her predator's eyesight could pick up the discoloration in the grass where it had stained it. Bait.

This countess would hopefully show up soon. If she had any sense at all, she would have somehow gotten the local intel on the slayer, and would know that Restfield was her favorite cemetery. Buffy wondered if they would bury her there. Would there even be enough of her left?

She shook her head. Thinking morbid thoughts was never a good thing, even less so when one had numerous predators on their tail. Her spidey sense picked up something to her left, and her head snapped around to meet the hulking, bearded figure that bounded closer. Upon seeing the vampire's expression, she was inexplicably reminded of a slobbering bloodhound. His eye lit up when he saw the blood. He eagerly rushed forward to smell the blood. And he moaned. Gross. He reached out and swiped the bloodstain with his fingers, smearing the blood. Sliding his thick fingers into his mouth, his yellow eyes glowed. It was really weird being like filet mignon to vampires.

"It is the slayer!" he called out in heavily accented English.

"Good," replied another accented voice. "I vill kill her now." And the countess revealed herself.

It was really a major letdown, Buffy thought as she shot the large man through the heart with a crossbow. The countess looked like something out of a gothic vampire movie. Maybe the worst one ever made. Seriously, it looked like she was wearing a vampire costume from like, Party City. No style. She reloaded her crossbow quickly and took aim at the countess, who still hadn't realized where her assailant was. Buffy took aim and shot the vampire through her heart. She exploded into dust.

"Way too easy," Buffy muttered. Things just didn't happen like that. Not to her anyway. She remained on top of the mausoleum and reloaded her crossbow. Something bad was coming, she was sure of it.

* * *

Angelus burst into the graveyard, snarling, looking for his mate. Swinging his head around, he saw the tombstone smeared with blood and two piles of dust near it. But no Buffy. Reaching out his senses he found her…staring at him in shock, her face just visible over the ornate carvings that topped the Mallory mausoleum.

He jumped up next to her. She was on her knees, dressed for combat, carrying a crossbow. He had evidently stepped into an ambush, but he doubted he was the intended target. Her golden face shows shock and a small amount of fear, her pouty lips forming a perfect little "O". The crossbow was held loosely and uselessly in slack hands.

She was fine. She was fine.

"Buffy…." He murmured. She blinked at him. He dropped his game face, went to his knees, and kissed her. She sighed softly into his mouth. Nipping her pouty bottom lip, he released her from the kiss. She looked dazed and…exhausted. There were purple bags under her pretty green eyes. He frowned to see them there.

"Sweetheart," he said in his most soothing tone, "Why is your blood there?" nodding to the tombstone. She blinked at him and shook her head.

"There was this…Countess," she said, her voice raspy and slow, "Giles thought she was a major threat and with you here…" The Scoobies really didn't need any distractions. Buffy seemed to realize that she was just sitting, well, kneeling, with him and made to move. Couldn't have that, could he?

She let out a gasp as he pinned her to the hard stone of the monument.

"No," he said, his voice hard. "You aren't getting away quite so easily sweetheart, now Buff baby, why don't you tell me exactly why your blood is staining the tombstone of some worthless schmuck over there and why you don't have any on yourself. And who exactly was this ambush for?"

She glared him almost vacantly while she gained her bearings. It looked like he unsettled the normally precise predator. Good. She should be unsettled. Right now he wanted nothing more than to beat the answer out of her.

"Tell me," he said smoothly, " Or I can make sure your friend Xander is slowly and brutally killed. You know I could do it sweetheart." Yes, he could. And he saw panic enter her eyes. And hated it. Really, she should care nothing for the worthless mongrel, or the rest of her pathetic little friends. She had him. What else did she need?

She looked at him with those big green eyes of hers_. Monster_, they said,_ threatening my friends_. But beneath that there was something else, something that was always there. _Lover_, they called, _take me_. . He would obey them.

"Like I said," she told him, watching him carefully, "we thought that this countess would be a major threat so we drew some of my blood, used it as bait, and I ended up picking off this countess and her minion… Or at least I think I did. It was a little too…"

"Easy," he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Good," he gave a nod. She made to sit up and he knocked her out. Picking up her prone form and scooping her over his shoulder, he jumped down from the stone monument and made his way back to the mansion.

The game was done. He was done. He would turn Buffy, grab Dru and hopefully Spike, and then the four of them would take off for Europe. After killing all of Buffy and Angel's pathetic little crews. That was definitely on his agenda. His side was already taken care of. All that remained was for Buffy to slaughter her family and friends.

And that would be taken care of very very soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Well, here it is. About oh, 5 or 6 months overdue. I had the chapter nearly finished, and then my computer died. So I got a brand new lapto with no stories on it. I apologize becuase updates for a lot of other stories are going to take a while. But I am very pleased to get this out. _**

**_I hope you enjoy it. _**

**_-Sinangeled. _**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Willow and Oz were lying next to each other in bed. They weren't talking. Things had been strained between the two recently, the revelation of Willow's interference with Buffy's emotions and Oz' subsequent disapproval had strained the relationship of the normally happy couple.

On top of that, the Veruca incident of months before still resonated in their minds. Willow felt betrayed. Oz felt out of control and guilty. He wondered if that was how Angel felt around Buffy after Angelus had gotten free the first time. He thought back to his second senior year, and remembered Angel's haunted eyes.

_Angel had it worse_, he decided.

"Willow?" he said. The Redheaded witch turned to look at him.

"Yeah?" she said, sounding nervous.

"I think we need to talk," he told her.

Xander was stalking around his basement apartment angrily. How dare Buffy behave the way she had? How dare she chastise them and tell them not to get in her way? They had supported her when she had needed them, even when the chosen one couldn't do her duty and kill her demon lover.

Bitch.

She was acting like she was better than them. She wasn't. They didn't sleep with vampires.

Slut.

She wasn't above them, they were above her. And Xander was determined to tell Buffy exactly that the next time he saw her.

Giles was worried.

It had only been an hour or so since Buffy had left, and there was no cause for alarm, but with Angelus on the loose he didn't know what to think.

He was afraid for Buffy. He was afraid for her friends. And he was afraid for himself.

He had already lost Jenny, and he still hadn't come to terms with that. He hated the vampire that had snapped her neck, souled or unsoiled, and now that Angelus was back in town…

Ripper wanted out.

Angelus had left Buffy tied to his bed again. She didn't look like she was going to wake up any time soon, and she needed her rest anyway.

He needed blood.

Making a minion was easy, and required very little exertion on the part of a Master.

Making a childe was an intensive and exhausting practice, and that was only the beginning. Minions were stupid, and generally only retained a bit of their personality. They were subservient. They were weak. That was why vampires had a lot of them. They were easily controlled.

Childer on the other hand were strong and rebellious. Plus, they required a lot of blood from their maker. And they took time that most vampires just didn't want to expend.

Angelus knew that Buffy was likely to be very strong, the change augmenting her slayer strength, and was likely to be pissed as well. She would definitely give him a lot of trouble. He would need a goo feed before attempting to turn her.

As he stalked through town he came across a group of three humans hiding in the bushes, dressed in commando gear. That was new.

Directly ahead of them was a minion, clearly just risen. They moved in on the idiot and tasered him. The vamp dropped to the ground and Angelus watched as the three young men tied it up.

"Okay," The tall blond one said. "We've secured the hostile. We need to get him back to the professor."

The other two nodded, though the young black man rolled his eyes. The blond had sounded a bit…stupid.

Well, the three commandos clearly knew about vampires, so it was really his duty to stop them.

He struck, moving at the speed that was only attainable after centuries of unlife. He snapped the neck of the nearest one and struck the blond, sending him flying.

"Grahm!" the black man cried before moving to taser Angelus. He grabbed the man's arm and broke it.

He twisted him to the side and sunk his fangs into the man's neck, draining him swiftly and efficiently.

The blond man was still out cold so he moved to drain the man he had killed earlier. His blood was a little cold, and wasn't spiced with fear like he usually enjoyed, but it would do.

He was full at that point, but knew he would need a lot of blood to change Buffy if he didn't want to leave himself weak, so he stalked over to the greasy haired blond. The man was still unconscious, so Angelus slapped him awake.

The man's eyes widened in fear.

"Ah," murmured Angelus. "There's the sent I love so much."

The man swung a fist wildly at him. Angelus caught it. And crushed it.

Riley screamed. Fear and Pain. Wonderful scents.

Angelus viciously jerked the boy around and sank his fangs into his neck. He drained him more slowly than the other two and when he finally let the body drop to the ground he was sure he had enough blood.

He stalked over to the minion who was still bound, and freed him.

"You," he snarled, still in game face, "Are going to dump the three bodies in the sewers, is that clear?"

The minion nodded, terrified.

"Good," Angelus snarled, and then went to return to the mansion.

When he arrived back to his room, he found Buffy right where he left her, with Drusilla cooing over her. He met Drusilla's eyes and jerked her head to the door. The vampress hastened to obey his silent command, pausing only to peck a still sleeping Buffy on the forehead.

She shut the door behind her as she exited the room.

Angelus let out a sigh as he watched his sleeping lover. She didn't look her best, exhausted and pale and a little underweight. Maybe it would be better to give her a few days to rest and recover. He bent over her to kiss her on the lips.

But it would be risky. He hadn't killed any of her little friends of even her Watcher, not wanting to deny her the experience. They were a pathetic lot, but they were resourceful and with Ripper's guidance they posed a threat to him. Not to mention that it would be very hard to control Buffy for days.

Unless Drusilla could hypnotize her….

Buffy had a very strong mind and a very strong will, and normally she would be very difficult to control for the maddened seer. But she was exhausted and off guard, adrift in a dream. The moment when she first woke up she would be off guard and vulnerable to Drusilla.

Dru could hypnotize Buffy and the three of them could be off to any corner of the Earth. He could turn Buffy, he could discipline Spike, and the four of them could return to Sunnydale to wreak havoc on the humans. It sounded perfect.

Angel had been keeping tabs on Spike and Dru, and the last the souled vampire had heard Spike was back in his native England, getting shit faced in demon bars on a nightly basis. He shouldn't be too hard to find. He could take Buffy to his native Ireland and hop across the Irish Sea to collect Spike.

"Dru," he called softly.

The dark haired vampire drifted through the door.

"Here's what we're going to do," he said.

_Buffy smiled at the flight attendant politely, as she turned down the offer of a drink. _

'_You should have something baby,' the dark man next to her said. He looked at the nice young man in the uniform._

'_She will have two glasses of orange juice,' he told the man who nodded and went to fetch them their drinks. _

_He came back with three glasses. Two were orange. One was filled with a vicious red liquid. _

'_What's that?' she said uneasily. _

'_Tomato juice darling,' her husband told her. _

'_Oh,' Buffy said. She sipped her juice. _

'_Why aren't there any windows?' she asked. _

'_There are windows my pet,' said the dark woman, her sister-in-law. And suddenly there were. _

'_Oh,' said Buffy. 'How silly of me.'_

'_Drink all of your juice Buffy,' her husband said. And obediently, she did. _

_She did everything he told her to on their flight. She ate what she was told to and allowed the dark woman to take her to a bathroom that seemed far too large for an airplane and allowed her to bathe her and when the pilot said they were landing and her husband told her to sleep she did that too, her eyes closing and allowing her to slip suddenly into darkness. _

Everything was coming together. Angelus was triumphant.

For him, there was no greater thrill than to know that everything you have planned for, worked for, longed for, and to come. Getting to hurt a lot of people in the process was just an added bonus.

The plan had worked perfectly. Drusilla had seized the moment of confusion and lack of resistance when Buffy awoke to put her under, and everything on the trip over to Ireland had gone according to plan. Buffy hadn't made any struggle on their way to a private plane, and she was already looking healthier and well rested. He had ordered her lots of healthy foods, as well as sweets, to help her gain back some of the weight she had lost.

Buffy, Drusilla, and himself were safely ensconced at his manor and he had sent out a group of minions with Dru to fetch Spike. They were due to arrive in a few hours.

Buffy, his golden girl, his mate, was currently asleep, a blissful little smile on her face. It was time he woke her then.

He wondered how she would react to being kidnapped and willingly assisting him in smuggling her into Ireland. He was betting not well.

He flipped back the duvet on the enormous bed and snuggled in next to her. He was anticipating the look on her face when she awoke. It would be beautiful.

He idly traced her face as he waited for the disturbance he created to wake her. He watched her as she began to stir. The little moan she gave enchanted him, and he watched, enraptured as her delicate eyelids fluttered and she looked around in confusion.

"Angel?" she asked. He was enraged. _Angel_, after everything he'd done, _Angel_.

He sneered at her.

"Not quite." Her eyes widened and she sat up and looked around.

Buffy's mouth was slightly open and her jaw trembled.

"What-" she started, eyes wide with fear. Angelus cut her off.

"Think, Buffy," he said smoothly. "Do you remember?"

Her eyes widened and she began to shake.

"You _bastard_!" she said and swung her tiny fists at him. He caught them and moved her under him.

"Yes," he said agreeably. She was pinned under him and the delicious smell of her fear washed over him. He might to anything to her in this position. He could kill her. He could rape her. He could turn her.

"I could turn you now," he mused. "But you're still a little tired."

Buffy struggled under him, a fresh wave of terror rolling over her. Becoming a vampire was her worst fear, the darkest nightmare in her mind.

And it looked like it was about to come true.

Spike was miserable. Drusilla had left him. And after the debacle in Sunnydale when he set off to go and find her?

Nothing.

She had totally avoided him.

Word said she was in Brazil. So he went. Prague. Ohio. China. Nothing.

So he had gone back to his native London to lose himself in drink for a decade or so.

Well, that and violence. And speaking of….

He saw one of the minions from Sunnydale walk into the bar. Any reminder of that place always brought him to rage. And he was in the mood for a fight. He nodded to the demon behind the bar and paid his tab, then stumbled to his feet.

He walked over to the minion and took swing at him, knocking the vampire clear across the room. He landed in a undignified heap and looked to the doorway of the bar in fear.

"I didn't mean to!" he cried out.

"Now, now," came a voice Spike had never expected to hear. "Don't make Princess angry."

Spike looked to his dark goddess.

"Drusilla," he said.

And then he passed out.

* * *

_**Reviews make me happy. **_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Angelus watched Buffy sleep. He felt a hint of regret for what he had done to her, but then again, her fear, her struggles, her heartbreak were all delicious to him.

But so was her love, which she denied him. It made him furious.

He had never wanted love, never sought it out. If people wanted to fall in love with him, that was fine; he could use it to torture them if he wished, or just get an easy kill out of an infatuated human. But he had never wanted it so badly that it burned his cold dead heart and seared whatever essence drove him in place of his soul.

The passion which he had long enjoyed had turned into an all consuming obsession that he could not escape from.

Buffy made a little noise and shifted slightly. Angelus looked down at her and smoothed a hand over her neck and face. She turned ever so slightly into his caress.

She hadn't done so earlier when he had cruelly sunk his fangs into her pretty little neck and drained her half to death. He hadn't wanted to be hasty, but the sound of the souled weakling's name passing those pretty little lips enraged him.

His mood swings were getting out of control again. It was similar to how he had felt in Sunnydale when he had first been unleashed, elated one moment and in a murderous rage the next. He needed to be more careful.

Buffy would be very powerful once turned, still a fledge, but it would not be long before she would be able to match him in strength from what he guessed. And if she so chose, she would be able to leave him. He didn't think he had to worry that much about it, but if he pushed her too far, then he might lose her forever. That would be…intolerable.

He needed to exert a little self-control.

There were ways to control Buffy without hurting her, ways that even she, with her formidable strength and intelligence would be unable to break. There were magicks that could render her helpless, weak, dependant. Submissive.

He craved that most of all. Her submission. Oh, he liked that she was powerful, and when he envisioned her future by his side, she was his strong and beautiful consort, but something in him craved dominance over her. It could be that almost human male desire or it could be the urgings of the Master in him which demanded he be the Dom in all situations.

It may have even been the part of him that craved her love. For if she offered him her submission, did that not mean that it was a form of trust?

Whatever.

He needed to find that spellbook.

Angelus gracefully slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of slacks. If he remembered correctly, the particular book he was interested in was somewhere in the library, where he had last used it a century earlier to get a little revenge on Darla for one of her manipulations. Good times.

He took one last look at his lover before he left their room. She looked pale and delicate lying in a bed that dwarfed her. He shook his head, distracted by the enticing possibilities of a weak and pliant Buffy. She would be unconscious for a while if he was reading her heart rate and breathing correctly. And he was so attuned to her it shouldn't be much of a matter to get to her side before she woke up if anything was to change.

He left the room.

Once in the library he zeroed in on the place where he had last seen the spellbook he was looking for. It wasn't there.

Someone was going to die. This was his manor, his property. And everyone knew that you did not touch what was his. He stalked around the rest of the room, searching for the ancient book among the tall and imposing bookcases. Angelus had imposed his will on the room, and the dark and masculine feel of the library was echoed throughout the house. The lack of natural sunlight was obviously not an issue with the dead.

Finally he found it, placed among a collection of French essays. He smiled.

Just then, he felt the telltale flickering of Buffy's heart as she was jolted back into consciousness. He sighed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy slowly woke feeling weak and dizzy. And nauseous. _Dear god, what had happened to her?_

Oh.

She sat up rapidly, and quickly wished she hadn't, it made the pounding in her head all the worse. She looked around the room, neck twisting with preternatural speed_. He wasn't there, he wasn't there, he wasn't there. Oh God. _

"Okay," she said.

Buffy ripped off the blankets covering her and glanced at her body. She was wearing a silky white little negligee with lace, but thankfully, it covered the important bits. She swung around to look at the door as it opened and Angelus stalked in.

Buffy took an instinctive step backwards. She might have loved Angel, and some secret dark part of her might love the demon, but she was still deathly afraid of him in this state. He had nearly killed her in one of his mercurial mood swings earlier, and he had made it clear that it was his intention to turn her into her worst nightmare. Something of her feelings must have shown across her face, because Angelus spoke.

"I'm not going to turn you now, darling, or at least," he amended, "Not right now anyway."

Buffy swayed slightly on her feet, partially from his declaration, but mostly from the blood loss. Angelus took another step towards her, shortening the distance between them. In return, she retreated further.

He was looking at her with eyes that burned into her, and not in the comforting way Angel's used to. Buffy flinched at the reminder of what had happened the last time she had mentioned her souled boyfriend.

Angelus shook his head at her.

"Buffy," he said, "Sweet, sweet, girl. I don't want you to get hurt. Come here. Now. You look like you're gonna fall over, lover."

She shook her head at him, strangely numb. She had forgotten about this feeling. When she was around Angel for long period of time, everything else had faded, leaving only him, and it had always made her feel strange. When Angelus had haunted her every move she had felt as if she were drowning, and his constant presence was the only thing she could cling to.

Now as she looked at him, he was all she could see, and that terrified her.

Impatient with Buffy's slowness, Angelus reached for her. She shrunk back. He began to panic.

"Buffy," he said, "Buffy?"

Buffy didn't speak to him, but continued to focus her large green eyes on him.

He hadn't hurt her so badly as to make her react like this, had he?

"Buffy?" he barked. He watched her face as her lips set into a determined line and felt an odd sense of relief. He moved towards her and she dodged him and went running out the door that lead to the rest of the manor. He cocked his head to the side and smiled. He could play this game.

Buffy rushed through hallways, skidding around corners and racing alongside dark wood paneling. She hadn't seen a window yet, and had no means of orienting herself. She had no idea where in the world she was, what she might find outside the walls of the…whatever she was in, but she knew she needed to get away from Angelus.

"Buf-fy," his voice echoed down the hallway. It didn't sound enraged; it sounded amused. Like this was _fun_ for the sick bastard.

Some inner part of her approved that she was calling him names again.

She continued to run from him. Buffy was faster than Angelus, normally. But he had drained her, sinking his fangs deep into her neck as she lay in his bed. Buffy shivered. It had hurt so, so bad that she had wanted to die from it. It was agony and, as he had pulled life from her neck, it had been death. It was worse than when she had forced Angel to feed from her, worse than when she cradled him between her thighs as he ground against her and saved himself with her blood. Angelus had made it hurt intentionally, she knew. It hadn't stopped her from coming undone as she lay beneath him.

That scared her the most.

Buffy skidded to a stop by a massive pair of oak doors, next to what appeared to be two walled over window. The door was locked when she tried it.

"Come out lover, come out, come out wherever you are…" Angelus was getting closer, not running, she realized with a jolt. He wasn't making much of an effort to catch her.

She redoubled her efforts at the door. The iron handles wouldn't open for her, and she struggled to break them out of the doors. Suddenly, they swung outward, to reveal a surprised looking Drusilla carrying an unconscious Spike, surrounded by a few minions.

Angelus appeared in the hallway behind her, his eyes narrowed to slits.

Buffy lunged for the door prepared to shove aside Angelus' children and minions. She hit a barrier and was jolted a step back. She looked at the open doorway in shock. The minions and Drusilla looked shocked as well. She shoved against the invisible barrier with all her might. Nothing.

"No," she whispered. Strong arms snaked around her body, pinning her arms helplessly to her sides. A large hand came to rest around her throat.

"Yes," Angelus whispered in her ear. He dragged her limp body backwards, supporting her weight. As the door was about to be removed from her sight she broke free of him and rushed back to the door, throwing herself against the barrier with all her might repeatedly, sobbing.

Something in him twisted at that, delighted by the beautiful picture of agony she presented, and saddened by her pain.

He collected her again, and this time she went docilely as he carried her to his room and draped her on his bed. He could hear the Drusilla moving about, the only one with a room anywhere close to his.

Buffy lay on his bed and looked blankly up at the ceiling, so incredibly beautiful. She wasn't dealing very well, the terror that he was realizing drove her to act against him stemmed mostly from the fear of becoming a vampire than anything else. He continued to watch her, and she continued to exist somewhere else in her mind.

Something clicked inside of him.

Angelus moved to cover Buffy with his body, and kissed her neck gently, supporting himself with an arm as he covered her like a shroud.

"I'm sorry," he told her. Her eyebrows drew together in surprise. This was deviating so far from normal behavior from him that it wasn't even rational.

"What?" she questioned.

"I'm making this worse, am I not?" he murmured, looking down into her moss green eyes. Her eyes still spoke of confusion.

"Drawing this all out," he clarified. Buffy's eyes widened with realization as Angelus sunk his fangs into her neck for the second time that day.

Her mouth was open in a wordless scream, as she struggled weakly against his unyielding grip. It only took him moments before he heard that telltale weakening of her heart, and withdrew.

He looked down at her bloody neck and slack face.

"I am sorry," he said. "I don't break my promises, normally."

But he had.

_Finish it_, something in Angelus urged, _make her yours forever_.

He cut open his wrist with a sharp dagger, and pressed the appendage into his beloved's mouth. The blood dripped down between her lips. Her body jerked, and her little hands came up to grasp at his wrist as she drank down his blood.

He smiled and stroked her hair.

"Good girl," he soothed. Buffy looked up at him with eyes full of despair, unable to stop drinking the blood that would turn her into her worst nightmare.

"When you wake up," he told her, "It will all be different."

* * *

**_So yeah. Sorry about the long wait. I have been feeling very uninspired lately, but I really want to finish this story. _**

**_Please Please Please let me get what I want...Review :) _**

**_(And yes, I am obsessed with the Smiths)_**


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